Trend, Challenges and Opportunities of Illegal Wildlife Trafficking and Trade Activities within and through Ethiopia

Having improved knowledge on global, regional and/or national trends in illegal wildlife trade is required to develop effective combating strategies. In this paper, nine years (2011–2019) data on illegal wildlife trade and trafficking (iwt) seizure records were used to explore trends in iwt activities in Ethiopia and to identify countries involved most in the iwt. Trends of iwt activities were assessed in two indicators: as relative transaction index (ti), and as relative weight index (for ivory [wi]) or as relative number of items for ivory and other wildlife products [ni]. To account for potential yearly variations in seizure rates, proxy variables to law enforcement efforts and effectiveness were used and predictive models that produced bias-adjusted estimates of relative trends in iwt activities were built. To explore the underlying reasons for the trend observed, relevant national officers were also interviewed to assess how well has been wildlife law enforcement working in combatting iwt in the country. Linear or polynomial regressions, where appropriate, were fitted to the seizure data to establish trends in transaction index over the nine years. A total of 842 incidences of iwt seizure instance reports, involving 18 animal species, were recorded in the country during the nine years period. However, the highest seizure (94%) rate was ivory and ivory products. Our results generally showed declining trends in both ti and wi or ni. The observed trend was also supported by the experts’ opinions and likely reflects the positive impacts of the country’s implementation of its wildlife laws. Other interesting findings of this study were that China represented the single most important destination country and Chinese nationalities were the most traffickers. In conclusion, the results provide detailed evidence to inform national and international decision making on key species implicated in the illegal trade. Similar periodic assessment of the situation of iwt within the country is needed to evaluate effectiveness of the country’s past and present measures and to revise its future combatting policies and strategies.

Association of human papilloma Virus infection other than cervical cancer: Systematic Review and Meta Analysis

Human Papilloma Virus (hpv) infection causes different cancer diseases. Cervical cancer is the most common hpv related disease. hpv infection also causes cancer of anus, vulva, vagina, penis, skin, bladder, prostate, breast, oral and others because the hpv virus is epithelium-tropic. But the association of hpv infection other than cervical cancer, for example breast cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer etc is still inconclusive. Thus, the objective of this review was to collect published information on hpv infection other than cervix to explore the pooled prevalence of hpv infection as well as related types of cancers. Publish research articles of hpv infection and cancer risks other than cervical cancer were systematically searched through Internet. The preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis guidelines were followed. Joanna Brigg’s Institute Meta-Analysis of Statistics Assessment and Review Instrument (jbi-mastari) adapted for cross sectional/case control study design was used for quality assessment of each individual study. A total of 22 studies were extracted and analyzed using stata 14. The random effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence; whereas subgroup analysis and meta-regression was performed to identify the probable source of heterogeneity. Both Egger’s and Begg’s tests were used to check publication bias. The totals of 486 studies were retrieved and 22 studies were included in this meta- analysis. The meta-analysis result showed that the pooled prevalence of hpv infection other than cervix was 34.36% (95% CI: 23.75, 44.97) with severe heterogeneity (I2 = 99.5%; p<0.001) with no publication bias. The highest pooled prevalence of hpv infection other than cervix was related to genital cancer which is 58.63% (95% CI: 51.86, 65.39), followed by oral cancer (47.15% with 95% CI: 19.67, 74.63). Although cervical cancer is primarily hpv induced cancer which well articulated with so many researches, other cancer types (based on the location of the hpv infection) are also increasing across the world based on this systematic and meta-analysis study. hpv infection increases the risk of developing cancers other than cervical cancer.

Depression, Anxiety and Associated factors among COVID-19 Patients at Armed Force Comprehensive COVID-19 Center Hospital in Ethiopia

The coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic has a significant impact on the public mental problem. The anxiety and depression symptoms are a common emotional reaction to the covid-19 pandemic. The objective of the study was to assess the level of depression and anxiety reactions and associated factors among covid-19 patients at the covid-19 center of the Armed Force Comprehensive Hospital in Ethiopia. Across-sectional study was conducted among 150 covid-19 patients who were interviewed for the survey in the Afaan Oromo language. The Beck’s Depression Inventory and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory measuring scale questionnaires were adapted and used to measure depression and anxiety of covid-19 patients. Data were analyzed by logistic regression using spss computer software version 23. Mean age of the covid-19 patients was 29 with a standard deviation of ± 7.6 years. Among the total respondents, 92 (61.3%) were males. The overall prevalence of depression from borderline clinical to severe was 84% and anxiety from moderate to severe was 86.7%. The multivariate regression analysis showed that being married, divorced, fear of death, poor sleep quality, fear of re-infection, less family support, loneliness, and lower oxygen saturation were positively associated with depression and anxiety reactions. From study participants, the majority of them were presented with features of depression and anxiety. Being married, divorced, fear of death, poor sleep quality, fear of re-infection, less family support, loneliness, and lower oxygen saturation were the associated factors with depression and anxiety reaction for covid-19 patients.

Genetic diversity analysis of Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) Landrace from Ethiopia as reveled by ISSR marker

Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) is one of the five most important legume crops from the genus Phaseolus though it is one of the neglected crops in Ethiopia. There is no national breeding program for its improvement. As it is true for all crops, understanding the genetic diversity of Lima bean is useful for its improvement and sustainable use. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to investigate genetic diversity of Lima bean landrace collected in Ethiopia using eight issr markers. A total of 96 landrace were collected from five administrative zones of Ethiopia from which 106 clear bands were detected. About 95 (88.7%) of the bands were polymorphic. The genetic diversity analyses result revealed that landrace collected from West Wellega showed the highest (0.1864) genetic diversity. amova demonstrated highly significant (P=0.00) genetic diversity among and within populations. A considerable proportion (66%) of the total genetic diversity was distributed among populations and 34% within populations. In addition, the calculated Fst value was high (Fst = 0.66), associated with a low gene flow value (Nm=0.27) indicating lower differentiation of the populations, which, in turn, implied no significant exchange of planting materials among farmers in the studied populations and the nature of the crops that Lima bean is 52% self pollinated crop. upgma, structure and PCoA analysis showed very strong grouping among individuals collected from the same zones and geographically distinct zones. Overall, genetic diversity achieved from this study could be used as pioneer information about the existing genetic resource for future Lima bean conservation and improvement strategy in Ethiopia.

Abundance and diurnal activity patterns of hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus Temminck,) in Addis Ababa abattoirs enterprise, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) is an African endemic scavenger listed as Critically Endangered species. The population is declining across its range and there is threat of significant decline in population and distribution in Ethiopia. Little efforts have been made to properly document the status of vulture population and their diurnal activity patterns in the country for ensuring long term conservation measures. A study was conducted in Addis Ababa Abattoirs enterprise, Ethiopia from November 2019 to January 2020 to investigate the abundance and diurnal activity patterns of hooded vultures. The abundance of these vultures was estimated by direct counts method at their feeding sites and scan sampling was employed to study the diurnal activity patterns of hooded vultures from dawn to dusk. Hooded vulture mean abundance was 216±40 at the abattoir. Their diurnal activity pattern showed that they were observed feeding, resting (perching, watching and basking), preening, roosting and others activities such as walking, drinking, chasing and flying. They spent 37.73% of their time in resting followed by others (including walking, drinking, chasing and flying) (27.73%). The major threat recorded for theses vultures in the abattoir includes shortage of food, human disturbances, negative attitudes and lack of awareness on the importance of the species. Further ecological studies and impacts of human activities on Addis Ababa Abattoirs enterprise should be conducted for the conservation of hooded vulture and other conspecifics in the area.

Assessment of Beef Meat Handling, Physicochemical and Bacteriological Properties of Selected Butcheries in Hawassa City, Ethiopia

Meat is the flesh of an animal that is considered edible, especially that of a mammal or bird and is nutritionally rich in protein and allied nutrients. The carcass of an animal’s pass through several channels before being consumed, even the handling of the meat by the consumers determines its nutrient availability. Fresh meats are easily contaminated during slaughtering and thereafter the processing. If not properly handled, processed and preserved, the meat is a good medium to support growth and proliferation of microorganisms. The problem of beef handling and hygiene in butchers’ enterprise are focusing in slaughter slabs, beef transportation and butcheries especially in some small butchers. Over the past two decades, consumers have been exposed to a series of food safety frights including major outbreaks of food borne diseases, food security issues, and contaminated food supplies. The aim of the study is to assess the physicochemical characteristics of the beef in outlets, which includes water loss, water activity, cooking loss/ water holding capacity, pH, shear force, moisture content and ash, and the bacteriological quality of the beef meat viz. aerobic plate count, coliform count, fecal coliform, E. coli 0157:H7 type I, S. aureus, Salmonella, and Shigella spp. The fresh beef meat samples were collected from Hawassa city randomly selected agricultural meat distributors. The laboratory analyses were done according to standard methods for the examination of foods. The results of this study revealed that the change in physicochemical properties, specifically the amount of water content decrease not only affected meat color and quality but also made meat dry and tough. However, the entire beef samples were at the food grade level. Bacteriologically meat samples were at good quality status compared to the standard set for fresh foods such as raw meat. Moreover, Salmonella and Shigella spp. in every 25 gm sample of raw beef were not detected. Environment, equipment and personnel sanitary hygiene during butchering beef meat helps to keep beef meat bacteriologically safe and quality.

Factors influencing information security compliance: an institutional perspective

Information is the critical resource of modern organization that needs to be protected from both internal and external threats so as to sustain in this competitive business environment. In order to do so, comprehensive security policy must be formulated and implemented. Every employee of the organization must comply with the organization’s security policy. Although organizations implement information security policy, it is commonly observed that employees do not comply with the organization information security policy. The purpose of this research was to identify organizational factors that shape employees behavior to comply with information system security policy in Ethio-telecom. Data were collected via using survey method. Multiple linear regression was used as data analysis method. The study result showed that management support, awareness and training, and accountability are leading organizational factors that shape employees behavior to comply with the existing information system security policy. This is a single case study; it cannot be generalized for other organizations. Other researchers can replicate this research for generalizability of the research findings across different contexts.

Some physiochemical properties of termite mound soil and its effect on yield and yield components of maize (Zea mays L.) Under Greenhouse condition at Nekemte, western Ethiopia

Termite mound soil amends soil fertility and utilized as an alternative to npk fertilizers by smallholder farmers in Africa. Experiment was conducted in western Ethiopia to compare selected physical and chemical properties of mound soil (ms), Adjacent soil (as) and non-mound soil (nms) and the effect of these soils on maize plant growth and yield in the Greenhouse. In Limu district, Fitbako kebele, cultivated land was purposively selected for sampling. In the cultivated land, a plot of 100m x100m was delineated and three mounds within the plot were also purposively selected to collect composite soil sample for soil analysis and Greenhouse pot experiment. From each mound, 10kg soil each from bottom, middle and top (total= 30 kg) were collected and mixed to obtain working sample of 10 kg. About 30kg of adjacent soil 5m away from mound soils and Non-mound soil at the distance of 20 m away from mound soil at the depth of 0-30cm were collected and thoroughly mixed to make working sample of 10kg from each soil type. Three kilograms of mound soil, adjacent soil and non-mound soil each was put in separate plastic bucket for greenhouse pot experiment. About 100 gm of each soil type was used for selected physical and chemical properties analyses. The result obtained demonstrated that termite mound soil was significantly (P<0.05) high in bulk density (bd), moisture contents (mc), porosity (P), Soil pH, percent organic carbon (% oc) and percent organic matter (% om). Total Nitrogen (tn), average (av.) P, av. K, Exch. Ca and Exch. Mg were also significantly (P<0.05) higher in mound soil in comparison with adjacent soil and non-mound soil. Maize plant growth traits and yield were significantly (P<0.05) high in mound soil. From the current study, it can be concluded that the use of npk fertilizer on plots having termite mound is not recommended. However, further research is needed on how to use mound soil on large plot of land

Scripting methods in topographic data processing on the example of Ethiopia

This study evaluates the geomorphometric parameters of the topography in Ethiopia using scripting cartographic methods by applying R languages (packages 'tmap' and 'raster') and Generic Mapping Tools (gmt) for 2D and 3D topographic modelling. Data were collected from the open source repositories on geospatial data with high resolution: gebco with 15 arc-second and etopo1 with 1 arc-minute resolution and embedded dataset of srtm 90 m in 'raster' library of R. The study demonstrated application of the programming approaches in cartographic data visualization and mapping for geomorphometric analysis. This included modelling of slope steepness, aspect and hillshade visualized using dem srtm90 to derive geomorphometric parameters of slope, aspect and hillshade of Ethiopia and demonstrate contrasting topography and variability climate setting of Ethiopia. The topography of the country is mapped, including Great Rift Valley, Afar Depression, Ogaden Desert and the most distinctive features of the Ethiopian Highlands. A variety of topographical zones is demonstrated on the presented maps. The results include 6 new maps made using programming console-based approach which is a novel method of cartographic visualization compared to traditional gis software. The most important fragments of the codes are presented and technical explanations are provided. The presented series of 6 new maps contributes to the cartographic data on Ethiopia and presents the methodology of scripting mapping techniques.